Danish sperm donors across three decades Motivations and attitudes

Capsule:
Motivation for sperm donation is multifaceted and primarily based on economic compensation and altruism. The attitudes toward aspects of donation remain liberal and unchanged among Danish sperm donors.

Objective:
To study the motivation and attitudes toward donor anonymity, economic compensation, and insemination of lesbian and single women among Danish sperm donors in 2012 compared with the two preceding decades.

Intervention(s):
All donors who donated sperm in the study period were asked to participate. The results were compared with those of previous surveys from the same sperm bank.

Main Outcome Measure(s):
Motivation and attitudes toward donor anonymity, economic compensation, and insemination of lesbian and single women.

Result(s):
In 2012, the most frequently stated factor was altruism, motivating 90% of the sperm donors, which was not significantly different from the previous surveys. If economic compensations were removed, only 14% would continue to donate. The proportion of anonymous donors who would stop their donations if anonymity was abolished was 51%, 56%, and 67% in 1992, 2002, and 2012, respectively. A significantly increasing proportion of donors felt positive about donation to lesbian couples.

Conclusion(s):
The motivation for sperm donation is multifaceted and primarily based on economic compensation and altruism. Most Danish donors would stop their donations if economic compensation or anonymity were abolished.

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